starsandgutters 's review for:

When Haru Was Here by Dustin Thao

2.75

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I wanted to like this more. At the start it was really giving Life is Strange vibes, and I was more engaged, but I quickly guessed what the twist was going to be. I think more subtle hints surrounding Haru could have played in better to the reveal. The flow of the prose was easy to read and the dialogue mostly felt natural. A lot of the heavier issues with Christian & Co felt like they were skimmed over, when I think there could have been more depth to the story there. Also his relationship with Daniel could have been more developed, as Daniel was such a core point of Eric’s story and motivations, yet I felt like I didn’t actually have a great vision of their friendship beyond a few snapshots. 

Honestly the most powerful part of the book to me was right at the end. Everything with Jasmine was so much more poignant than any of the romantic relationships, and their sibling bond had much stronger development. I suppose this may have been purposeful to give more weight to the plot as it unfolded, and to make Eric’s preoccupation with his romantic connections feel smaller in hindsight, but it just made the story feel unbalanced. The ending was really beautiful, and despite feeling little attachment to Eric throughout most of the novel, I did get emotional with him then. 

Big shoutout to Kevin. He was a real one. Wish we knew more than like two things about him.